CBS orders mini from Bible team

US broadcast network CBS has ordered miniseries The Dovekeepers from executive producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, who previously made cable hit The Bible.

The four-hour series, the first from the network’s recently announced event programming unit, will be based on Alice Hoffman’s 2011 novel about four women at the siege of Masada in ancient Israel. Broadcast is slated for 2015.

CBS Studios International will distribute the series, a coproduction between CBS Television Studios and Downey and Burnett’s LightWorkers Media, outside the US.

“The Dovekeepers is a compelling, beautifully written novel that combines history and fiction into a timeless story of survival and heroism,” said CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler. “We’re thrilled to be working with Roma Downey and Mark Burnett to bring Alice Hoffman’s epic saga to life.”